Saving Flay
by Big-Babidi
Summary: Variation of episode 46. What if Kira succeeded? KiraFlay
1. Alive

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED. It belongs to Mitsuo Fukuda. Not making any money here.

* * *

Saving Flay 

Chapter 1 - Alive

By Big-Babidi

* * *

He felt exhausted. 

Both physically and mentally.

His breathing spoke volumes of his fatigue. Sporadic at best.

His mind… could hardly form coherent thoughts, relying upon reflex.

Rau Le Creuset's words ensured such a mental state befell Kira Yamato.

Thanks in a large part to the day's revelations; the young Coordinator felt a whirlwind of emotions storming through his conscience. Making matters worse, taking on the GAT-X131 Calamity in a mobile suit showdown was not the ideal location for long philosophical brainstorming.

Since the first day he remembered, Kira never imagined the possibility of being adopted. He had always gotten along with his mother and father; it seemed inconceivable the same parents he'd known and loved all his life weren't biologically related.

The same parents who happily raised him as their own. The same parents who, despite Kira's doubts, persuaded him that Coordinator or not he could still open up to others, making friends in Heliopolis. The same parents who stayed up alongside him until the crack of dawn assisting in his complex schoolwork for Professor Kato. The same parents who provided extra attention and comfort after his separation from Athrun, convincing him his best friend left more behind than just Birdy.

Since the Archangel's first landing in Orb, Kira never felt so guilty for childishly avoiding them.

They deserved better.

Adding another troublesome branch to the newly problematic family tree, Uzumi Nara Athha's parting photograph was apparently accurate; meaning him and Cagalli Yula Athha truly _are_ brother and sister. While he was already cautious thanks to said sister's earlier picture, simple suspicions and having such skepticism confirmed were completely different scenarios.

His eventual confrontation with Cagalli was one discussion he was totally unsure on handling properly.

While his family members, regardless of when he learned of their existence, were all great people Kira could not say the same towards his biological father.

Dr. Ulen Hibiki.

A phenomenally bright and ambitious scientist. Revered by everyone he knew and at the peak of his career, Dr. Hibiki was responsible for arguably one of the greatest achievements in human enhancement since George Glenn.

The Ultimate Coordinator Project.

The idea of being born outside his mother's womb made Kira sick to his stomach. A most unwelcome feeling while piloting a mobile suit.

As a Coordinator, Kira made an effort to study the roots of such alterations. He quickly learned that the mother's womb was the only obstacle preventing absolute genetic adjustment. Although there was a small group of scientists who researched possible methods to overcome such a hurdle, no advancements occurred. The professionals he studied about deemed the project a lost cause and eventually axed it because of the insanely implausible chance for making progress.

To think his father actually _succeeded_…

All for the sake of accomplishing undeniable happiness.

What a joke.

It neared too much for him. Kira could hardly keep up with the absurd amount of revelations spiraling through his mind.

Via and Ulen Hibiki. Twins. Artificial womb. Sacrifices. Perfect genetic modification. The Ultimate Coordinator. Mwu's father. Bribery. Cloning.

Rau Le Crueset.

If his self-discoveries were not enough, the masked ZAFT commander's origins took the cake. Other than the man in question, who would have guessed Kira, Mwu and Rau were intertwined in such a bizarre secret?

Apparently, cloning was another of his father's specialties. A team of mini Al Da Flagas sealed their partnership.

Al Da Flaga supplied the money and Dr. Hibiki continuously produced the goods. A formidable, secret, scientific tag team.

Even worse was their creation's mentality.

Kira could not forget the man's words, no matter how badly he desired.

_**Nobody can do anything about it. For the whirlpool of hatred is engulfing the universe! If that's what they truly desire, why don't they simply exterminate each other!**_

_**The final door is about to open. And I'm the one opening it! Then the world that we know will come to an end. This world of insatiable desires will end!**_

Just what was Rau Le Crueset up to? How could he, one man, make such an unbelievably bold, yet malicious declaration so confidently? Kira had no doubts of the masked commander's emotional stability, or rather lack thereof. He could not prevent himself fearing whatever plans Al Da Flaga's clone had conjured up for the future.

His pondering was forcefully shoved aside as the Calamity's Schlag beam canon shots improved in their accuracy, compelling Kira to increase his focus. Unless the Coordinator had a secret wish of getting incinerated, he could not afford being on the receiving end of such attacks.

Regardless of the circumstances, such thoughts needed to be put on hold for the duration of the battle. Mental catastrophes be damned.

At the moment, all he had to do was take on that blue mobile suit.

Fully confronting a mass of jumbled discoveries came later.

* * *

'_Where is it? Where is it?'_

She continued looking through the windows of the life pod, hoping against hope to reach a certain vessel.

What she saw made her shake uncontrollably, beyond terrified.

'_Where is it? Where is it?'_

Other than the ZAFT vessels, Flay Allster did not recognize the ships involved in the gargantuan space melee. The light blue and pink warships' identity was above her limited military knowledge.

She figured she understood. That she knew the hardships and struggles of war. Thinking back, the redhead finally realized the truth. During the entirety of her time aboard the Archangel…Flay didn't understand _a thing_.

'_Where is it? Where the hell_ is it_?'_

Flay began shifting from window to window. Hoping, _begging_ to find her desired destination. The girl was inches away from becoming frantic to a level of borderline psychosis. If her search remained unsuccessful for an additional ten seconds, she probably would have.

Taking in the sight, her eyes widened and her heart accelerated. Unless she suddenly required glasses with a powerful prescription, the familiar warship was in her line of sight.

The Archangel!

Flay wasted no time. Totally unfamiliar with ZAFT technology, she pressed miscellaneous buttons continuously in record time. With any luck, the Archangel would receive her signal and retrieve their former crew member.

"Archangel! Archangel!"

Nothing.

She was not about to give up, however, and resumed her desperate cries for help.

"Archangel! Come in, Archangel! Please respond!"

Attempting to contact the Archangel in vain over and over was beginning to take its toll on the girl. Her unease caused an avalanche of unwanted questions hurling on top of her. Why was she unable in getting through to them? Did she have incredibly bad luck? Was there some kind of jamming interference like what Sai once told her about? Perhaps a malfunction somewhere? If so, the life pod was only marginally above scrap metal!

Continuing her panicked button-pressing frenzy, Flay called out, hoping against hope someone, _anyone_ heard her call. The redhead was unaware that she configured the correct signal, accomplishing just that.

"Archangel!!!"

* * *

Sai Argyle was no longer a civilian. 

That he knew with absolute certainty.

Since Heliopolis, the young Natural saw firsthand how war… transformed people. He could do nothing to prevent such occurrences, as his only attempt on taking offensive action landed him in solitary confinement. Instead the boy found himself as an observer, noting the agony of others while providing whatever support possible, regardless of how minimal.

His own problems… not even worth mentioning. No greater than schoolgirl drama compared to his friends' suffering.

Miriallia Haw being a prime example.

He remembered the old Miriallia. The nice girl who made friends with everyone. From Flay to Kira, without her their group of friends wouldn't exist. Everyone liked Miriallia Haw. Her befriending abilities extended to the Archangel's crew as well, making the aftermath of the Marshall Islands showdown that much worse for morale.

Following Tolle's disappearance, later discovering his passing Miriallia was, simply put, a wreck. She hardly ate or drank; preferring time spent sulking alone in contrast to her bright, cheerful, optimistic disposition.

His own attempts to enliven her mood failing miserably, her involvement with Dearka Elsman became quite the surprise. From the Buster's pilot's prior comments, Sai figured he ended up on Miriallia's shit list forever.

The two bonded much quicker than he ever guessed possible. As an onlooker, he found their banter quite entertaining once the initial awkwardness from their 'friendship' settled in.

She could deny it all she wanted. Sai was not fooled. Dearka Elsman _and only Dearka Elsman_ turned her frowns upside down.

Thanks to a combination of his observations and the Archangel's 'cursed' status, Sai taught himself preparedness. Always anticipating the unexpected on a seemingly average day.

Despite that, he never expected hearing _her_ voice that day. He turned around; noticing Miriallia's widened eyes.

Her confused expression perfectly matching his own.

Surprised gasps and murmurs rang throughout the Archangel's bridge.

"The Alster girl?"

"How'd she get over there?"

"Didn't she get transferred?"

"What the hell's goin' on?"

Without warning, the crews' eyes all locked onto Sai's.

He understood. They needed verification. Her former fiancée's word proved unarguable.

"That's Flay. No doubt about it."

* * *

'_That voice.'_

Could it be?

He thought he had lost her.

"Flay." The young Coordinator gasped, hoping the sound of her voice was not a figment of his imagination.

At that moment, time stood still. One after another, past events kept surfacing in Kira's mind.

Images.

Words.

Sensations.

All of the Flay Allster he knew. Of the Flay Allster he loved.

_**I don't want any of you Coordinator's acting friendly with me!**_

_**You didn't make any serious attempt to fight, did you? It's because you're a Coordinator too!**_

_**I want you to know I'm sorry. You fought the best you could. You were out there protecting us.**_

_**We'll be fine, because Kira will be out there. He's fighting to protect us.**_

_**I can't fight by your side, but my thoughts will protect you.**_

_**So how… so how… how could you feel any sympathy for someone like me?**_

_**Kira…Kira, I**__ – With an impending battle on the horizon, Kira had no time for chatter. Although he initially avoided eye contact, it took little time to face her once again, finishing his words with a smile_. _**Sorry, not now. But…later.**_

As he gazed towards the life pod, he felt a strange weight lifted, akin to a large boulder taken off his shoulders. When Sai told him Flay was no longer aboard, Kira felt a small part of him dying inside. Everyone knew what happened at Alaska. What _truly_ happened, leading to the Archangel's defection. While Flay's survival was not guaranteed to be lost, no one doubted Mwu only survived from his return to the ship.

Despite how others regard him, Kira hid his devastation well. Losing the opportunity to hear what Flay wanted back then only added to the inner misery.

After his intense death-match with Athrun, Flay most likely felt the same. He was sure of it. Neither of them deserved such pain, and he opted to put an end to it, no matter what.

He would _die_ before losing her again.

Knowing what must be done, Kira felt his focus returning. His troubles fading.

So what if he was adopted?

Blood or no blood, the Yamato family were just that… _a family_. Some masked man's words could never break them apart.

Newly discovered relations with Cagalli?

He was already suspicious before setting foot in Mendel. Any initial shock quickly wore off thanks to said sister's earlier picture.

A clone of Mwu's father?

Out of sight, out of mind. For the moment, at least.

The Ultimate what?

He didn't give a damn about that.

Such thoughts could be explored later. Kira Yamato had only one objective coursing through his mind.

Saving Flay.

* * *

As the mysterious feminine voice kept calling out, he quickly noticed it caused everyone on the battlefield had stopped to cease movement. While he and his comrade were in battle with the red mobile suit, the aforementioned machine's pilot effortlessly perceived it and remained on guard, regardless of any surprising voices. 

The other mobile suit, however, was _not_.

Standing still smack-dab in the middle of the combat zone was beyond a trainee-level error. Momentarily leaving the Forbidden to the Justice, Clotho Buer intended on capitalizing such a convenient opportunity.

"Fatality!" Declaring one of his favorite video game quotes, the Raider's pilot prepared to follow through with the announcement. It took nearly a second to charge, and even less time to fire the Zorn cannon blast from the mouth. Clotho could practically taste victory from the inevitable slaughter only moments to come.

Or in any case, that was the plan.

An instant before contact the white mobile suit parried to the right, quickly turning around with a beam rifle in hand. The Freedom kept shooting towards the Raider with no indication to discontinue.

The red haired pilot growled in frustration. At first glance, the immense amount of times Kira pulled the trigger gave him the appearance of an amateur firing wildly; wasting energy like a third-rate rookie.

Clotho Buer quickly discovered that was not the case. He couldn't afford to make any smartass comments or display a shred of overconfidence. The redhead needed complete concentration in simply evading the attacks, leaving no room for retaliation.

"You're shittin' me!" What happened to that pilot? A few seconds ago, his technique was sluggish enough to make any veteran pick him apart with ease. The Freedom pilot's skills instantly raised to a level Clotho never faced before.

The one sided exchange of fire lasted a solid thirty seconds. During that time, he noticed the space between them gradually increasing. Until the mobile suit sped off in another direction, racing towards the life pod.

Apparently, the Freedom's pilot had higher priorities.

If that didn't piss off Clotho Buer, nothing could.

* * *

Hearing the captive's identity, along with seeing the Freedom soaring in that direction, Natarle Badgiruel showed no hesitation. Seeing the Archangel's defection, the newly appointed captain didn't know the extent of what happened to the crew, especially to the point where they would refuse returning to the Earth Forces. With that in mind, Natarle believed it was in Flay's best interest if she didn't encounter the Archangel. In addition to saving a fellow officer, having her aboard the Dominion would prevent the redhead from seeing how they… _changed_. 

"Calamtiy! Ensign Sabnack! Retrieve that life pod!"

Through communications on his end, Natarle heard Orga's confusion alongside the sounds of the Calamity's Scylla cannon firing relentlessly upon the Justice. Time was ticking and the Calamity pilot's bewilderment was not helping matters in the slightest.

"Hurry, Ensign Sabnack!"

After a slight growl from Orga, the Calamity joined in the race. Disobeying orders was the last thing he wanted. The 'biological CPU' knew firsthand the punishment for failure was far worse than anything the enemies could inflict upon him.

Seated beside the black haired captain, Murata Azrael paid rapt attention to the situation.

His ZAFT contacts were correct, that life pod came from the Vesalius. The ship commandeered by the infamous Rau Le Creuset, the one Coordinator Azrael's passionate loathing waned slightly than all others. Hearing his voice admitting Flay's release filled the Blue Cosmos director with a giddiness rivaling a kid in a candy store. While he had no idea what Rau's been plotting under his sleeve, he knew the masked commander would supply him information more than beneficial for the preservation of a blue and pure world.

Coordinators assisting in the eradication of their own kind. Azrael saluted that philosophy. If only they kept tabs on that Strike pilot…

Ah well. No use crying over spilled milk, as they say.

As long as that pod was retrieved, his life was peachy.

* * *

Their method of exchanging fire was less than professional. Sloppy, imprecise, half-assed mobile suit combat at best, the pilots were simply _un_coordinated during their battle, pun intended. 

In fact, it greatly reminded him of two other friends forced into combat. Dearka Elsman barely suppressed a chuckle at the thought. _'Funny… this was like the way Athrun and Kira fought when this whole thing started.'_

Facing off against the GAT-X102 Dual, the Buster stuck to its guns. In battle with Yzak, Dearka refrained from either combining his weapons or firing a single missile towards his former comrade.

Likewise, Yzak Joule used only the beam rifle. The Dual's pilot restricted himself from using the railgun or the missile pod. While he would never ordinarily consider such tactics, his earlier conversation with Dearka continued playing loudly in his mind. It infuriated him to no end that his friend, his _best friend_ would even consider joining the Legged Ship. Even so, he could not prevent himself showing mercy. Not now.

At a standstill, Dearka took a moment to quickly view his surroundings. The Eternal and Kusanagi were making progress getting past the three Nazcas. Orb's M1 Astrays were, surprisingly enough, holding their own against the GINNs, as well as the remaining Strike Daggers. The Archangel and the Dominion continued their epic battle as well, neither side gaining the upper hand.

He also noticed the major mobile suits all seemed fixated on retrieving the ZAFT life pod. The Freedom, as well as the Earth Forces blue and black mobile suits were making a beeline in that direction. Why would they do that? What was he missing here? The mysterious lady's voice sounded attractive to be sure, but that could not have been the reason. While he wouldn't consider himself best buds with the former Strike pilot, Dearka was under the impression that Kira Yamato was not the kind of pilot who primarily thought with his dick on the battlefield.

If only he knew the irony of such-

'_Wait a minute. What the hell?'_

Dearka was taken from his thoughts as the Forbidden came into his line of sight. Unlike the others however, its target was not the life pod. It was heading towards the Freedom.

His eyes narrowed.

Kira was a good pilot. A damn good pilot, in fact. Whether inside the Strike or the Freedom, Dearka discerned firsthand the brunette's skill was nothing short of legendary. Even so, as an experienced soldier he was not about to envision him as some form of deity in a mobile suit. The blond never believed in such nonsense.

Nicknames. Reputation. War stories. He knew such people were anything _but_ infallible.

With all three EAF mobile suits closing in, Dearka clearly understood his comrade was on the verge of a losing battle. Kira's apparent primary target being the life pod only served to support the assessment. Interference needed to occur.

He had to make it happen.

'_I hate to do this to ya buddy, but I got not no choice._'

Dearka had to give his friend some credit. Yzak deserved it. Considering his combat performance the Dual's pilot seemed to have absorbed his words fairly well, leaving them both with plenty of food for thought.

His arm raised, Dearka pressed the buttons near the top of the cockpit indicating communication. Getting past the Dual through discussion was worth a shot if he could do it quickly.

Knowing his friend could hear the words, Dearka began. "Sorry Yzak."

He heard his friend gasping in confusion, but continued before the silver haired pilot's short temper interrupted. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have time to deal with this right now. A friend needs my help, so I gotta get goin'."

Yzak hastily interjected. "What the… what the hell are you talking about Dearka? We may have been friends, but what makes you think I'll let you get past me?"

Dearka started lowering his weapons.

"Just that Yzak. Just that. I'll say it one more time: if we've really become enemies, then shoot me."

Without waiting for a response, the Buster sped away from the Dual.

Dearka knew he was walking on eggshells making such a bold declaration in Yzak's face. His former teammate's short temper made him the worst possible candidate of the Le Crueset Team for successful negotiation.

The blond took quite the risk turning his back on Yzak Joule.

To his credit, the Dual never fired a single attack towards his direction. Despite temporarily locking onto the Buster, it never attacked at all.

As fast as his mobile suit's thrusters allowed, Dearka headed on a collision course with the Forbidden. Wasting no time, he connected the Buster's guns immediately after the enemy machine came into his line of sight.

"Oh _no_ ya don't!"

Only needing an instant, he had a clear shot.

He took it.

Dearka had to admit, the Forbidden's pilot possessed impressive reflexes.

Not even a second following the Buster's attack, Shani Andras was already prepared. On impulse, he stopped chasing the Freedom opting instead to face the Buster. The Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer deflection armor in position, effectively guarding the machine. The massive heat blast collided with its shields pushing it back, throwing the mobile suit off balance.

"Damn you!" He yelled, surprised at the enemy's firepower.

Dearka narrowed his eyes. _'That guy… he's good.'_

He never encountered a Natural with such skill before, sans Mwu La Flaga. Against an opponent of that caliber, Dearka Elsman could not afford to play games.

That in mind he pursued the enemy, relentlessly continuing his assault.

"Take _this_!"

* * *

"Sorry Yzak." 

His eyes widening slightly, Yzak Joule gasped. The shock from Dearka's recently discovered survival had not worn off. _'What's he up to?'_

Before he could retort, Dearka spoke again. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have time to deal with this right now. A friend needs my help, so I gotta get goin'."

Yzak narrowed his eyes. _'I can't believe he'd say something like that to me!'_

"What the… what the hell are you talking about Dearka? We may have been friends, but what makes you think I'll let you get past me?" His interjection came swiftly.

His surprise only increased upon witnessing the Buster lowering its armaments.

"Just that Yzak. Just that. I'll say it one more time: if we've really become enemies, then shoot me."

As the Buster immediately raced towards the green Earth Forces mobile suit, Yzak was speechless; though his hesitation did not last long. Activating the Dual's scope, he planned on taking Dearka down. He would show his friend the error of his ways.

Along with alleviating those confusing thoughts out of his head.

_**It seems like all we're trying to do is wipe out every last Natural!**_

_**I wonder… which one of us is really being deceived.**_

Yzak shook his head. He had to overcome. No matter how honest, how righteous and how convincing Dearka's arguments seemed, he could not afford believing a traitor.

Locking onto the Buster came quicker than expected. Yzak found himself lingering to pull the trigger.

Could he do it?

Could he really kill Dearka?

Damn the war for placing him in this position!

_**He and Athrun were friends since they were little kids.**_

His hesitation continued.

If Dearka's words were true…

Did Athrun experience this feeling the whole time? Such helplessness where one could do nothing but cry out to the heavens from such injustice? Of all possibilities, Yzak never thought he'd understand Athrun today. Now if he saw him, the silver haired pilot would only give him a _light_ punch to the face.

His chance left as quickly as it started. Yzak could hardly determine whether to feel angered or thankful as the Buster pressed onward, away from his targeting zone. Choosing the former, he slammed his fist inside the cockpit.

"Damn!"

He did not give chase. His orders rang loud and clear as he sped towards the Eternal. Yzak cursed again, unable to prevent the feeling of relief flooding through his system after sparing his best friend.

From sparing his 'enemy'.

_**If we've really become enemies, then shoot me.**_

Or were they enemies?

Yzak sighed deeply. If Athrun felt this way following every battle against the Strike…

Instead of a punch, he would now receive a good measured slap upon their next meeting.

* * *

He had enough of this nonsense. 

That pilot would go down today.

Finally catching up to the Freedom, Clotho Buer planned to make it happen.

Just a little closer.

He was pleased to notice the pilot hadn't reacted to his presence. One humiliation after another, the redhead was getting sick and tired of these guys. The powerful red and white mobile suits accomplished driving him up the wall. All three of them. Orga and Shani undoubtedly shared his desire to watch them explode in a beautiful flurry of fire, shrapnel and exclusively in Shani's case, all those pretty lights.

Almost there, just a little more.

Clotho prepped his Mjolnir hammer. An instant, smooth decapitation sounded delicious in his eyes. A fitting start in destroying the villain who defeated them continually, the boss he couldn't kill no matter how times they fought.

There. Perfect.

A devilish smile appeared on his face. "Game over!" He shouted, launching his attack.

That fool would think twice before turning his back on Clotho Buer!

Only to miss.

An instant following release, a shot collided the weapon's side. While not enough to destroy the Mjolnir, it succeeded in throwing it off course.

Noticing the red mobile suit was behind the interception, Clotho cursed. Why wouldn't these things just die already? He fumed. The Freedom already forgotten, he intended on showing the Justice his own definition of that word.

Chaos and destruction to anyone that stood in his way.

Athrun Zala knew he couldn't play around, immediately springing into action. Grasping the Bassel beam boomerang from the left shoulder, the Justice launched the weapon towards the Raider. His attack was easily parried, but that didn't bother him in the least.

Clotho positioned the Raider's shield cannon directly at the enemy mobile suit. So intent on destroying the Justice, he forgot one important lesson.

Boomerangs came back.

By the time he heard the weapon's whirling sound, it was too late. When a boomerang returned to its initial master, nothing stood in the way. Anything that tried became a mere obstacle. The Raider's right leg being ripped to pieces was a testament of the fact.

Its pilot wasn't even allowed time to curse as three shots from the Justice simultaneously tore through the machine's right arm, turning it to space dust. Once he regained control of his mobile suit, Clotho was beyond angry. Not only from the damage, but witnessing the red mobile suit soaring in another direction.

Evidently, the Justice's pilot was needed elsewhere, the Raider no longer worth his time.

Just like the Freedom.

He angrily fired from the Zorn energy cannon towards the Justice, though aimed poorly; his fury overriding his focus.

Athrun didn't even need to move. He simply kept on flying.

Clotho screamed at the top of his lungs, facing humiliation once again.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Raider's pilot, Kira was well aware of his 'surprise' attack. Luckily for him, he needn't take action. Thanks to Athrun and Dearka's impeccable timing his path to Flay went uninterrupted. 

The ZAFT life pod in his sight, the young Coordinator envisioned success. He would get Flay out of this war zone and back to the Archangel. Back to safety.

Back where she belonged.

Back to him.

Or so he imagined.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Quickly dodging a Schlag cannon attack, Kira found himself face to face with the Calamity once more. The enemy mobile suit positioned itself directly in front of the life pod.

'_Damn!'_ Kira narrowed his eyes. He couldn't afford using any firepower. The risk of involving Flay through collateral damage was too great.

Ruthlessly attacking without pause, Orga Sabnak knew this. With the enemy having such reservation to fire near the ZAFT life pod, he'd consider himself an idiot to pass up taking advantage of the situation. His comrades would do the same, as the white and red mobile suits were the cause of many punishment sessions since the attack on that neutral nation. Even if Azrael ordered their capture, Orga doubted his boss would throw a fit to see one of those thorns in their sides going up in smokes.

Besides, without eliminating the threat he couldn't successfully retrieve the life pod.

Evading barrage after barrage of the Calamity's long range arsenal, the Freedom charged the enemy. As the mobile suit approached, each hand drew a beam saber. Its parrying wasn't perfect, however, as the Earth Forces mobile suit's Schylla cannon blazed through the Freedom's left arm, annihilating both the mechanical limb and the weapon it carried. Luckily, the Freedom's incredible speed prevented the machine from being pushed back following the blast.

Under normal circumstances, Kira Yamato wouldn't dream of entertaining these thoughts. Stopping confrontations resulting in the lowest amount of casualties possible stuck to the forefront of his mind during a battle.

Never kill, always disable. It sounded so easy, but only through accomplished pilots like Athrun Zala and Kira himself made it possible. Nearly every other would become overwhelmed from the disadvantages such ideology possessed on the front lines.

But this time the stakes were just too high.

He could not, would not gamble her life because of such 'handicapping'.

"Flay!!!" Using her name as a battle cry, the Freedom's right arm shoved the beam saber directly through the Calamity's cockpit. He didn't even bother retrieving the weapon, resuming his course to the life pod. His demeanor remained unchanged as the enemy mobile suit exploded.

Only one priority in his mind: Flay Allster.

Configuring communications to all channels, Kira began speaking. Others eavesdropping didn't concern him at the moment.

"Flay? Flay, can you hear me? I'll get you out of here."

He heard several sharp intakes of breath from other ends and a response that filled his heart with joy.

"Kira? Is that… is that you?"

* * *

A/N 

Well, to be honest I have some other Gundam SEED plot ideas I wanted to write, but considering I haven't written any non-crack Gundam SEED fanfiction at the moment I figured I'd get started on this first as sort of a practice run (I was originally going to make this a one-shot, but I've changed my mind to make it a bit longer). Mainly to see if I'm capable of writing in this fandom without turning it into a gigantic pile of Chocobo excrements.

Thoughts? Comments? Critiques? Other stuff? I'd love to hear it.


	2. Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED.

* * *

Saving Flay

Chapter 2 – Rescue

By Big-Babidi

* * *

He growled.

His hand, now curled into a fist, slammed down upon the armrest of his chair.

Murata Azrael easily felt his jovial mood slipping.

The day started well. Reaping the benefits befitting of his VIP status, Azrael enjoyed a mouth-watering full course breakfast, as opposed to ordinary military rations. With high spirits and a full stomach, he contemplated the capture of those high-powered mobile suits. The weapons that forced the duration of their attack against the Orb nation to increase drastically would finally fall into his hands.

Only to watch said plans crumble.

Seeing the Raider pummeled like a rag doll was irritating enough, but the Calamity's fate… infuriated him. Those mobile suits were supposed to deliver, to obtain satisfactory results. Failing to those machines continuously was out of the question,

Especially when said failure could prevent him from receiving Rau's 'gift'.

"That voice. Kira Yamato… he's still alive?"

He slightly turned his head rightward, noticing Natarle's shocked expression.

Apparently, the pilot of that mobile suit was linked to the Archangel. Or at the very least, the two of them had a connection. The Dominion's captain rarely displayed surprise, opting for an appearance demonstrating refined dignity and poise. Showing such emotion to the enemy pilot's voice was a major tip-off for the Blue Cosmos leader and he easily made his deductions.

Honestly, Azrael wasn't that surprised. If anything, such a revelation only fueled his desire to capture those machines.

"I want our remaining Daggers to team up with the Forbidden and surround that white mobile suit! It's already been damaged by the Calamity, so now's our best opportunity to both capture it and retrieve that pod."

Natarle snapped out of her funk in record time. Putting Kira Yamato's newly discovered living status aside; she relayed the order to the crew both in and out of the Dominion without hesitation.

'_For once.'_

He barely suppressed a sigh at the thought. While he had nothing against a women showing a little opposition, the black haired Captain's constant rebuttals and blatant challenges to his authority had gotten much deeper in his skin than he'd like to admit. Her job consisted of following his orders while leading their side to victory.

He hoped this unwavering cooperation was _not_ a onetime occurrence.

If possible, he'd rather refrain from gaining her obedience by force.

But if push came to shove, he wouldn't think twice.

* * *

"Yeah… it's me."

Her eyes watered upon hearing his answer. _'He's alive! Kira's really alive!'_

It seemed too great to be true. She couldn't believe it. Kira Yamato, the person her heart went from loathing to loving was still among the living. Even in the midst of combat between three opposing factions, she'd never experienced such happiness in her life, times before Heliopolis' destruction included.

True to Kira's words, she hadn't felt this alive since before his MIA announcement, before he was forcefully taken out of her life.

"Kira… oh God… oh thank God you're alive."

"Flay, I… I missed you so much," Neither boy or girl could find a more appropriate response, overcome by raw emotions.

After moments of additional sputtering and stammering without a degree of a successful conversation, Kira and Flay began calming down. "Flay, are you alright? You're not hur-" Kira's question concerning her wellbeing went interrupted as two shots of green energy fire whizzed past him.

They were Strike Daggers. While only two, Kira figured more would arrive shortly, especially if the leader of Blue Cosmos bought into Flay's message about a key to end the war. A likely scenario, he had no intention of taking any enemy mobile suit, even mass produced models that paled in comparison to the Freedom lightly. With Flay's own existence at risk alongside his own, the ace pilot's resolve strengthened.

Kira's eyes hardened once again as the Freedom's right arm held and maintained a firm grip on the life pod, holding it near the mobile suit's abdomen. The Gundam's plasma cannons and rail cannons went into firing position, "This could get a little rough so please be careful, Flay. We're going back to the Archangel."

She gasped slightly at the change in demeanor. Gone was the soft, overjoyed tone in which she could hear his tears of happiness, replaced by a determination that allowed nothing to interfere with his objective.

Flay assumed the countenance the love of her life was exhibiting ran parallel with the tidbits of information she picked up in ZAFT captivity about the seemingly omniscient pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike. Most specifically the miniscule bits of info related to a Berserker: relatively nice people anywhere other than a battlefield, where their personalities altered drastically and eliminated all opposition.

She would witness how powerful Kira Yamato became when he had someone to protect.

* * *

He gritted his teeth. _'Athrun and Kira make fighting these bastards look easy.'_

The blond wasn't used to such firepower. No surprise there, as his opponent's mobile suit's offensive capabilities were totally unique.

Call Dearka Elsman a weirdo if need be, but the Coordinator was used to engaging enemy fire traveling in a _straight_ line. The curving attacks of the Forbidden's Hresvelgr plasma induction cannon succeeded in driving him up the wall.

"You won't take me that easily!" He yelled, countering.

And witnessing the shots from his un-combined rifles constantly ricocheting off the enemy only added fuel to the firestorm raging inside of him.

The Buster shifted left, followed by charging its thrusters, narrowly evading two attacks.

Once the third shot grazed the Buster's left leg, Dearka had enough.

"Back off!" The mobile suit's shoulder compartments opened, unleashing a flurry of missiles. He needed time to regroup, lest his mobile suit become torn apart; the missiles providing the necessary diversion.

Shani Andras didn't mind the enemy's strategy.

No.

He _preferred_ it.

Missiles closing in, the Forbidden pulled back. The green and black mobile suit continued its path in reverse much longer than necessary. The Forbidden's close combat mode active, its entire long range arsenal entered attack position.

Dearka's eyes widened significantly. By the time he realized his opponent's objective, any chance to intervene was slim to none. _'Damn it! I should've known. He's goin' after Kira.'_

Igelstellungs. Armfeur machine guns. Eckzahn railguns. Hresvelgr cannon.

All fired simultaneously, effortlessly destroying the missiles.

The mobile suit turned around immediately following the attack, racing towards the Freedom once again. Shani grinned maniacally, eager for an opportunity to defeat that white mobile suit in its damaged state. This time he wouldn't fail.

Trailing far behind, Dearka took another quick scan of the area, the Freedom's status being his main concern.

Only a second spent, he saw enough.

One arm destroyed and the other securely holding the life pod, the Freedom soared past a battalion of Strike Daggers, constantly avoiding their attacks. Using its plasma cannons and rail cannons, the Freedom retaliated to the enemy's barrage with ease. More than simple evasion, its movements appeared graceful, like dancing as it tore through all opposition.

With such abrupt observing, Dearka unfortunately failed to notice a ZGMF-515 CGUE trailing Kira.

Refocusing his attention on Shani's mobile suit, he combined the Buster's guns and locked onto the Forbidden. A successful hit from such long range was incredibly unlikely, but diverting the enemy's attention from the Freedom sounded good to Dearka.

"In case I didn't make myself clear, you'll have to go through me first, asshole!" He snarled.

The Buster's scattered shotgun blast had the desired result. Predictably, Shani dodged the attack and turned his eyes back on the Buster. To ensure that decision, Dearka fired a few more rounds and though unsuccessful in landing a hit, they accomplished getting the point across.

Tired of the Buster's constant interference, Shani's patience diminished to a miniscule level. Back to close combat mode, the Forbidden rushed towards the enemy, Nidhoggr scythe in hand and Hresvelgr plasma cannon blasting wildly. "Hehehe… you'll have to do better than that."

Dearka definitely did not consider repeated evasion of that cursed attack as his idea of a good time. Avoiding three consecutive attacks, the Buster barely parried the next, only his combined shotgun wasn't so lucky. The plasma shot melted the barrel of the Buster's strongest gun in a horizontal curve.

"Damn it!" Disconnecting the firearms, he quickly discarded the gun launcher seconds before it exploded.

Armed with nothing more than the energy rifle in his Gundam's right hand, Dearka's situation took a turn for the worst. Heading in reverse at top speed, he put the Buster's last remaining weapon to the test.

Shooting blast after blast of green energy fire, he cursed as each attack proved ineffective on the Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer. With the Earth Force's mobile suit quickly closing the distance between them, Dearka tried to maintain his confidence but to no avail. He noticed the Buster's energy levels running dangerously low, along with his chance of survival. The blond closed his eyes, feeling a miniscule droplet of sweat trickling his brow. _'I guess this is it, huh? This sucks… I never even got laid.'_

The Forbidden closed in, Nidhoggr scythe raised overhead and primed for destruction.

Dearka's eyes instantly reopened. _'No!'_

As the weapon lowered with incredible strength, he rotated his Gundam, causing its left arm to become shredded scraps from the Forbidden's scythe. The blond pilot did his utmost to retain his balance and composure as his machine rocked from the assault. Odds stacked heavily against him, he had no intention of losing his energy rifle so easily.

He was elite. Dearka's ascension to wearing the red uniform along joining the Le Crueset team took every ounce of skill, determination and willpower he possessed, and the road of hardship hadn't stopped there. His track record hardly compared to Kira Yamato's, but he had faced both the legendary pilot in question and Mu La Flaga yet survived to share the tales. The Buster's pilot participated in multiple battles against the 'legged ship', the destruction of Artemis, the eradication of the eighth fleet and during his imprisonment inside the Archangel, found a cause worth fighting for.

A cause that wasn't complete. A cause that needed him to remain alive. No matter how dangerous, ruthless and overwhelmingly powerful any obstacle fervently displayed, Dearka Elsman could not afford throwing in the towel.

Slim to no probability of victory? Yes.

Give up without a fight? Not a chance in Hell.

Scythe resting in its left hand, the Forbidden fired its railguns. Shani hadn't forgotten the director's orders, but he planned on enjoying his enemy's inevitable demise.

Dearka fired two more shots as he evaded the attack, frowning as they had no effect. His last line of defense proving useless against the enemy, he had to do _something_. Powering up his mobile suit's thrusters, he rushed the enemy head on. The machines already close in proximity; Dearka parried another blast and threw the rifle, the gun connecting with the Forbidden's left wrist, forcing the enemy Gundam to drop its trademark melee weapon.

Continuing his charge Dearka purposely traveled near the scythe. Instead of reaching and grasping it impulsively, he waited an instant before passing until claiming the weapon. Taking advantage of the extra momentum, the Buster swung the scythe with all its one-armed might.

But Shani Andras was no pansy. Like Dearka, he adjusted his Gundam's position instinctively. Still, his machine didn't come out unscathed, as the Nidhoggr scythe cleaved its left railgun in two. Angered to a maniacal degree, Shani had enough. Noticing the Buster's Phase Shift deactivating, he smirked. That bastard would humiliate him no further.

'_Not good. That was supposed to kill the… What the?'_ Dearka's inner ramblings silenced when the Buster's sensors picked up a beam boomerang closing nearby.

Only its target wasn't the blond.

Rapidly approaching the Forbidden's side, Shani faced the weapon and effortlessly destroyed it with his plasma cannon. His frown turned upside down. Sighting the Justice racing to their location at top speed provided the justification needed for the quick change in attitude.

Seeing a teammate piloting a damaged machine in heavy danger, Athrun Zala couldn't help taking a slight trip down memory lane.

_**Athrun, get out of there!**_ _The one armed GAT-X207 Blitz canceled its Mirage Colloid and charged towards the Strike, its pilot determined to save his friend by whatever means necessary. Extending the lancer dart in hand to cleave the enemy, Nicol Amalfi failed in hiding his surprise as the Strike seemingly evaded on instinct and quickly retaliated by slamming its anti-ship sword in the Blitz's cockpit with tremendous force._

_**Athrun… run.**_ _He barely uttered the two words before the cracks in his helmet increased exponentially and his face become a mess of red blood as the Blitz exploded, the damage it sustained too great._

_The Aegis' energy depleted, Athrun could do nothing but shout in terror upon witnessing one of his friends kill another_._** Nicoooool!**_

Athrun narrowed his eyes, exuding determination in waves.

He wouldn't lose another friend.

Overjoyed, Shani began firing his mobile suit's plasma cannon wildly.

"Dearka! Get back!" Springing to action, the Justice easily evaded the blasts. Reaching behind, the Justice hurled its last remaining beam boomerang, its Fatum-00 subflight lifter ejecting immediately afterwards.

Shani enjoyed providing the boomerang an equal fate as the other, but made his mistake after seeing the red mobile suit traveling nearby its backpack.

'_I ain't fallin' for the same shit twice.'_ He clearly remembered this maneuver in Orb, only done by the Freedom and the Justice. Once the subflight lifter raced past him, the machine would swoop down from above, gaining an easy hit. He wouldn't allow that red mobile suit to get the drop on him. It would take more than repeated tricks to defeat Shani Andras.

The Justice's backpack slamming head on with the Forbidden startled him beyond anything in his troubled life.

The green haired pilot cursed as his mobile suit was aggressively pushed back. His situation truly became catastrophic moments before destroying that ridiculous backpack, as the siren indicating critically low power levels rang loud and clear.

'_What? No more.'_ Another lesson he supposedly learned from Orb. Over reliance on the Forbidden's energy and defenses was a bad habit Shani formed during battles with the nuclear powered mobile suits. One that needed fixing. One that could cost him dearly.

And now, it would.

Without warning, the sublift flyer halted its rush and changed course, leaving the Forbidden alone. Shani was too stunned by its abrupt alteration in battle tactics alongside the sudden realization of nearly empty energy levels to notice the Justice pouncing from above, humiliating the bloodthirsty pilot's pride in the process.

Athrun yelled at the top of his lungs, bringing down his double-bladed beam saber entirely through the Forbidden, cutting the enemy mobile suit in half vertically. He faced Dearka, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Bastard got lucky. Seriously. I've got to get me one of these scythes. They're really badass."

Inputting commands in his mobile suit with phenomenal typing speed, Athrun nodded. "Good to hear. Get on the Justice's subflight lifter whenever you can. I've programmed it to fly a direct path to the Archangel. I'll go and help Kira before we rendezvous."

Heading to the Justice's flight tool, Dearka complied. "Right… and be careful."

"Will do." Athrun slightly smiled, wondering the extent of difficultly in Dearka saying those last three words.

* * *

_**Let's lower our weapons and talk!**_

_**But please… be careful. Remember what happened between Athrun and me.**_

Yzak Joule had seen better days.

After his engagement with the Buster, he needed an outlet to release this pent up rage from Dearka's actions, as the inner turmoil that plagued him was still strong. Heading towards his comrades to engage Orb's mass-produced mobile suits was the best solution, his orders to destroy the Eternal serving as nothing more than an added bonus.

Fully analyzing the situation, he noticed Rau Le Crueset fighting the Strike Daggers that remained undamaged following the Freedom's race to the 'legged ship' carrying that weird prisoner. Narrowing his eyes, Yzak would've contemplated the Commander's unusual actions further but upon closer inspection, another thought entered the Duel pilot's mind.

The MBF-M1 Astray was impressive.

At first glance, he figured they wouldn't stand a chance against ZAFT's signature fighting strength. While Orb's mobile suit surpassed the GINN in mobility and offensive armaments, Yzak predicted the increased enhancements befitting of Coordinators alongside more experience in space combat would tip the scale in the GINN's favor.

He watched firsthand how his assessment proved false.

As a GINN from the Heusinger approached the Eternal, an M1 fired its Igelstellungs slightly to the ZAFT machine's left. Where the GINN predictably dodged to the right, the M1's bullets pursued.

So focused on that single M1, the ZAFT pilot failed to notice a second M1 Astray until a green beam of rifle fire eliminated the GINN's right arm.

Making matters worse, with the machine totally off guard the pilot could do nothing but scream as a third M1 soared from the rear, drew its beam saber and easily sliced the GINN in half.

"Nice goin' Asagi!" came from one of the Orb machines, as they regrouped in preparation for the next enemy.

Three pilots.

Asagi Caldwell.

Mayura Labatt.

Juri Wu Nien.

Their teamwork was picking the GINNs apart, once machine at a time.

'_Not anymore,'_ Yzak thought, intent on tearing the M1 trio to shreds.

Catching sight of the Gundam, Juri's eyes widened in shock. "Oh crap. The X-102 Duel! And it's heading right for us!"

Commander of the M1 team, Asagi narrowed her eyes. In addition, she needed to settle her friend's fears.

"It may be a G-weapon but it's not invincible." She took a deep breath, "Alright, let's try and make this guy disoriented so we'll fire separately. We can't afford to let him start attacking us."

Her teammates agreeing, the M1 trio scattered and began mercilessly firing upon the Duel.

If anything, Yzak's disappointment was only directed towards himself. No matter how he dodged, another shot was eagerly waiting for him. If the Duel didn't have its shield, he would've been in serious trouble. The three pilots' had incredible synchronization in battle, but the silver haired veteran knew his piloting capabilities surpassed whatever these three could accomplish.

Fed up, the Duel sped in reverse, launching the Assault Shroud's missiles and shooting the railgun simultaneously. They wouldn't hold him down for long.

Dodging the railgun blast, Asagi intercepted two of the missiles headed for Mayura; her friend handled the three leftover with exquisite precision and no hesitation.

The two M1s target shifted from the Gundam for only seconds, but Yzak used his time productively. He immediately turned his machine towards the remaining M1, already using the Duel's scope for superb accuracy. Rapidly attacking twice, he watched their teamwork advantage wither away.

The first shot destroyed the M1's left knee. As the mobile suit fell forward with the cockpit in plain sight the second shot pierced right through, forcing the machine to erupt in a fiery blaze.

"Juri!" Mayura Labatt couldn't believe her eyes or suppress her tears. One of her best friends since childhood, Juri Wu Nien was the brains of their little trio, Asagi Caldwell as the ringleader and Mayura the overprotective tomboy bodyguard. For the past decade, they were inseparable. Only through their hard work and determination to remain together did they acquire the ranks of top three in command of Orb's M1 Astray squad.

And now… she was gone.

Mayura imagined Asagi's sentiments matched her own.

Enraged, she drew the M1's beam saber with its left hand and charged towards the Duel.

"You God damned bastard!"

Yzak effortlessly parried her swings. Judging from the enemy's strong reaction to his destroying that machine and their already stellar teamwork, Yzak figured the pilots must have been close friends. Friends who stood by one another and fought side by side during the harshest of battles, friends who intended to survive this catastrophic war _together_.

_**I don't remember making the decision to become your enemy.**_

_**I don't remember betraying the PLANTs either.**_

Like Dearka and Yzak once were.

He raised the Duel's shield, blocking a vertical slash that came too close for comfort. Yzak growled, upset that his friend's words had thrown the silver haired pilot off his game to such an extent.

"Not that easy!" While the Duel's one hundred fifteen millimeter railgun had no clear shot at the cockpit, the weapon easily tagged the machine's left shoulder, effectively removing both arm and saber altogether. Afterwards, he easily locked onto the M1 with the beam rifle.

The Astray pilot yelled as the blast pushed her damaged mobile suit backwards. Fully cornered, Mayura knew she was completely defenseless. The time required to gain her bearings too great. She closed her eyes in resignation. _'I'm sorry, Juri. I couldn't do it.'_

"Oh God… Mayura!" Asagi screeched, racing to her side. Witnessing Juri's death caused more emotional pain than she ever imagined. Mayura would _not_ leave her too. Whether she'd lose a limb or her entire life to ensure that, it did not matter. Asagi would do everything in her power to save her brown haired friend.

Luckily, she need not worry.

Before Yzak could fire, his grey and blue Gundam alerted its pilot of two massive heat signatures heading straight for him.

Or so he thought.

Narrowly dodging the Izumo class battleship Kusanagi's Gottfrieds, the massive explosion that occurred behind him only seconds after evading the blast stunned Yzak to the core.

One quick look and his eyes widened in realization.

"That's the Vesalius!"

* * *

The pilot inside the Strike Dagger tried his best.

His mobile suit being sliced in half made his efforts useless.

"Piece of shit CGUE! You'll pay for t-" His comrade's declaration of vengeance went interrupted as a green energy beam tore through his mobile suit's cockpit.

While the Earth Forces new mass produced mobile suits gave the Naturals the advantage against ZAFT's older models, Rau Le Creuset had little trouble tearing them to shreds. But he had no time to cackle insanely at their struggle to survive, as the brilliant strategy he devised to end the war was thrown into peril.

His dilemma came from something else.

Kira Yamato.

Going by his plan, Murata Azrael would've received both the prisoner and the Neutron Jammer Canceller data soon. Onboard the Dominion, the key to the door ending humanity would finally be opened.

They should _not_ end up heading towards the 'legged ship' at phenomenal speed.

How could he have guessed the Ultimate Coordinator would harbor such strong feelings for Flay Allster? How could the masked commander have known the boy would stop at nothing to rescue the girl? If memory served, George Allster's daughter disliked Coordinators. He never saw this twist in fate coming. Like he told Athrun, irony abounds in warfare.

Engaging another Strike Dagger, he charged, all the while evading its inaccurate firepower. The CGUE's heavy sword slashed through the cockpit, ending the enemy pilot's life at a young age.

Unexpectedly, his senses of spatial awareness flashed. He wasted no time in searching for the Freedom.

The elegant nuclear powered mobile suit had succeeded breaking through the Strike Daggers' offensive. No longer surrounded, its plasma cannons and rail cannons began firing on the leftover Strike Daggers. Each attack thoroughly disabled the mobile suits, but allowed the pilots to keep living.

'_Damn!'_ Rau pivoted his CGUE to the right, narrowly avoiding Kira's onslaught. He continued in the same direction, hoping the brunette would make a mistake. The masked man knew attacking the Freedom head on was madness, relying on the unlikely chance its pilot would slip up from the numerous mind-shattering revelations he learned from Rau himself. An opening, just one opening was all he needed from the Freedom to relinquish Flay from its grasp, thanks to the beam rifle in the CGUE's hand, as opposed to the enforced ABSV bullets that couldn't even dent Phase Shift.

Unfortunately for Rau, while gaining a better vantage point he stumbled across an unforeseen problem. Specifically, he encountered a dead end named Athrun Zala.

It shamed the blond commander immensely that his focus on the Freedom overrode recognizing ZAFT's other nuclear powered mobile suit quickly arriving to his location. He swiftly killed any lingering thoughts of reclaiming the life pod and focused on escaping in one piece. Rau Le Creuset held no illusions. Fighting against Athrun in the Justice, especially while threatening his best friend was suicidal at best. He could not afford to die just yet.

"It's been a while, Athrun. That little stunt you pulled with your father proved quite entertaining." Rau smirked. Chairman Zala's son had a penchant for listening to his advice. An advantage he found himself thankful for.

"Commander." The boy's tone was subdued, unsure of what to say.

"But I wonder… why are you wasting time here with me? Shouldn't you be helping your friend?" Before Athrun could respond, Rau pressed on, "Thinking back, the irony was even greater than I thought. Back when you revealed Kira's name, I had no idea we were talking about _that_ child. Despite what you think, you and Kira are not equals by a long shot. He is completely superior to an average Coordinator like yourself."

"That's absurd. There's nothing different about Kira."

Rau laughed, "It may not sound believable, but it's true! Next time you see him, when you rush back to his side, you may want to ask him what he _truly is_."

Using Athrun's confusion to his benefit, Rau took the opportunity and sped away from the Justice, leaving the blue haired boy with troubling unanswered questions. He wasn't allowed a break however; as he received word the Vesalius had been destroyed.

* * *

"Captain! We've lost the Forbidden's signal!"

Natarle's eyes widened in shock. Losing the Calamity threw the Dominion into a moderately unsafe predicament. While not drastic enough to force the gray and black Archangel class warship to retreat, the captain had to play her cards very carefully.

Another machine destroyed made their situation _extra disastrous_.

"Missiles approaching!"

"Evade to port!" She responded quickly. Natarle pursed her lips. No more postponing. "Fire signal flares! We have to withdraw from this area immediately!"

Instantly whirling to establish eye contact, Azrael was not pleased. "What are you talking about? That ZAFT pod is still in our reach."

Natarle frowned, "That white mobile suit is tearing our Strike Daggers apart and the red one is still fully functional. Considering the Raider is not only our last remaining G-Weapon, but also damaged and running low on power, Ensign Buer doesn't stand a chance out there and neither will we if this escalates any further!"

With the situation becoming grim, the Dominion's captain had no time or motivation to give the director a pat on the head. Her crew's lives were at stake and she would not put them in further jeopardy solely because a businessman decided to throw a temper tantrum.

Azrael gritted his teeth, unable to deliver a valid retort. Instead, he already began contemplating one matter that demanded investigation.

Reacquire the possibility of nuclear weapons, no matter the cost.

* * *

Out of danger, Kira could feel himself shutting down.

He felt his eyes closing, his hearing degrading and his mind losing its grip on basic concepts as the discoveries and events that happened finally caught up to him.

But before he could submit to any forms of rest, he needed more than auditory confirmation.

He had to see her.

As the mechanics in the Archangel's hangar opened the life pod, Kira peered down from his Gundam's now-opened cockpit. Even with his body screaming to give out, even with his eyes demanding closure, Kira found the sight of Flay Allster in a ZAFT uniform to be absolutely stunning. He noticed she immediately gazed towards the Freedom.

"Kira!"

The brunette smiled. He did it. He saved Flay.

He finally gave in, blacking out. Kira vaguely heard Flay yelling his name once more, only with genuine concern instead of immense happiness.

* * *

All was silent inside the Kusanagi's hangar bay, save the noises of mechanical repairing.

Her M1 mounted along the proper position for repairs, Asagi took a number of deep breaths inside the machine, attempting to gain a modicum of understanding on the battle's most recent events.

Juri had died.

And Mayura came so close to joining her.

Apparently, Kira and his companions successfully destroyed two of the Earth Forces latest models. A significant feat in and of itself, the blond couldn't find any solace from such an accomplishment, her friends' fates consuming the forefront of her thoughts.

Opening the cockpit, she glanced around to locate Mayura. An easy task, as no other M1 onboard missed an arm. Removing her helmet, she submitted herself to the mercy of the weightless state onboard, seemingly gliding towards her friend's machine. A number of engineers were nearby the cockpit; Asagi had a vague idea to the cause and didn't like it.

The M1 squad leader approaching, a mechanic addressed her, "Asagi! Come here! Mayura's refusing to come out!"

Asagi frowned. Just as she thought. Stopping alongside the engineers thanks to their assistance, she attempted getting through to her friend, "Mayura? You can come on out now, the fighting's over."

No response.

The blond girl sighed, "I'm entering."

She opened the cockpit from outside, finally seeing her friend face to face.

The tomboy's head was cast down and she shook drastically, her hands nearly crushing the M1's triggers. She took quick breaths while sobbing, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Juri…she…I…oh God."

In all of Asagi's years, she'd never seen Mayura in such a pitiful state. Though she understood the reason, the sight nearly destroyed her. Taking hold of her friend's trembling fingers with her own, Asagi gently forced them to release the machine's inner workings, leaving them at her side. The blond then disconnected the safety belts across her lap and chest. Finally, she slowly removed the tomboy's helmet, revealing the tear-stricken face of Mayura Labatt.

"Juri… she's dead Asagi. She's dead."

Struggling to maintain a calm exterior, Asagi put her hands on Mayura's shoulders. "I know. And I know it hurts but every-"

She paused, frowning while peering down. Just how in the _hell_ could she say that everything would be alright? Both knew that their lives wouldn't be the same, their care for Juri far too excessive for that.

"Everything will be alright, Mayura." The words exited her mouth spontaneously, but she didn't mind. The positive meaning that came across those false words was something Asagi had no intention of taking back.

Mayura's sobs grew louder. Without warning, the tomboy dived into embracing her and pushed both girls outside the mobile suit, surprising both her blond haired friend and the mechanics nearby.

Arms wrapped around Mayura, Asagi gave her friend an opportunity to cry her heart out. All the while finally allowing her own tears to fall freely. _'I can't lose you too, Mayura. I just can't.'_

* * *

"I see. Thank you. If anything happens, please be sure to contact me."

Murrue Ramius hung up the phone and approached the stool near Mu's bed in the infirmary. She sat down; the photo album that previously resided there firmly in her hands.

"I thought you should know that Kira fainted. And it seems it wasn't due to the fighting."

He closed his eyes, slowly nodding. Mu turned away from her, eyes reopening, gazing towards the ceiling. "That doesn't really surprise me. After everything's that's happened."

Murrue kept silent as he continued speaking.

"My father was… an arrogant and tyrannical man. He was constantly belittling other people." He paused for a moment, the infirmary totally quiet sans Murrue turning pages.

"He died when I was really young, so I hardly remember anything except that impression." Mu turned his head to the left, away from the captain. "But can you believe it? Why did it turn out this way? Moreover, that man was a failed experiment… because of a shortage in telomeres. How the hell could this have happened?"

The building anger from the day's events had Mu turning away, the back of his skull facing his girlfriend. Feeling's Murrue's hand gently stroking his hair served to calm him, however slightly.

"It's not your fault, Mu."

The Hawk of Endymion continued, "He doesn't have a past or a future. He probably doesn't even have a sense of self."

"Thus, he wants the entire to world to perish along with him?" Seeing her boyfriend's frustration resurfacing, Murrue began revealing Rau's 'plan', "And if Kira hadn't rescued Flay, he might have succeeded."

At Mu's confused expression, she reached in her pocket and retrieved a disk. "Flay was carrying this when her pod was floating in space. She said it was given to her by Rau Le Creuset himself."

The blond didn't bother hiding his surprise, "Do I even want to know what's on there?"

A small smile graced itself upon Murrue's features, "It has detailed information about the Freedom and Justice." Noticing Mu raising an eyebrow, she elaborated, "That includes precise specifications of the Neutron Jammer Canceller."

Mu sighed, "You've gotta be kidding me. That son of a bitch, he was planning for those specs to reach Blue Cosmos' slimy hands."

He endured enough unpleasant revelations for the day. A part of Mu felt like joining Kira and fainting himself from such an overload of information. Both Kira and his fathers conducting bizarre experiments, discovering his nemesis was actually a clone of his dad and now said enemy planned to stealthily assist the Earth Forces nullify the Neutron Jammers that prevented this war from becoming so much uglier. Mu never liked the idea of nuclear missiles attacking the PLANTs, a notion he felt even before Alaska.

He'd do whatever necessary to prevent such tragedies.

"Murrue, could you do me a favor?"

Obviously surprised, she stammered out a response. "Uh…yeah, sure. What do you need?"

His playful mood returning, Mu gestured to the disk while grinning, "I want you to pistol-whip that sucker into fifty-six pieces."

She smiled back.

* * *

A/N

At first, I was gonna stop this chapter after Kira wakes up and sees Flay (and also with a little Dearka/Mir fluff before that), but decided to end it here instead because I am made of pure evil.


	3. Final

**Disclaimer**  
I don't own _Gundam SEED_ or any Cosmic Era Gundam series.

* * *

Saving Flay

Chapter 3: Final

By Big-Babidi

* * *

Despite their victory, the _Archangel's_ mess hall had been silent and empty for the past couple hours. Leaning against the entrance, Miriallia Haw easily understood why.

Dearka Elsman sat in the middle of the room, grasping a cup of coffee in deep thought. He looked immensely troubled, staring down at it like it carried all answers within. A sense of gloom seemed to fill the air, one she hadn't anticipated. She'd kept an eye on him during the battle and knew his clash against the Forbidden played a pivotal role in rescuing Flay. She'd expected to find the Buster's pilot bursting with pride, sharing a story with an excited group about greatly exaggerated exploits. Something he'd done frequently. Briefly reflecting, she remembered the first week of his stories, and afterward had actually believed their opponents on the _Vesalius_ were called the Elsman team by all of ZAFT. Fortunately Athrun, who Dearka considered the official "stop having fun guys" type refuted his fables and set plenty of records straight. Without him, numerous people aboard the _Archangel_ would've believed Dearka capable of outrageous feats, accomplishments that ranged from cooking exotic dishes for parties to slaughtering a bear with only a coconut and some random girl's thong.

Compared to now, he looked happier back in the brig. Something was clearly wrong.

Miriallia approached slowly, slightly surprised by his lack of response. Whenever she usually entered a room with Dearka, he could hardly keep his gaze away from her. Her eyes or frustratingly her posterior had always been a beacon for his sights anytime they were close by. But now, the scorching hot cup held all his attention. She sat in the stood beside him.

"Hey."

He looked and met her gaze, his expression unchanged.

"Hey."

Miriallia pursed her lips, "You ok?" When he didn't respond, she switched tactics with a small smile, "You're paying more attention to that coffee than me. What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, but it shouldn't be that way. One Waltfeld is enough."

His chuckle gave her a sense of triumph, "Well come here and sit in my lap. I wanna have a shot at the best of both worlds."

Mir laughed, but stopped when Dearka didn't join her, instead choosing to continue his coffee staring.

"Dearka," She reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong? Talk to me."

A number of seconds passed in utter silence.

"How'd Kira do it?" He asked suddenly.

"Huh? How'd he do… what?" She was unsure where this was headed.

"You were there from the beginning right?" At her confused nod he explained further, "How did he fight against…" he trailed off before saying Athrun's name. Since leaving Orb, Dearka had gone to great lengths to avoid mentioning his other defecting comrade from the Le Creuset team in Miriallia's presence.

Her hand had slightly trailed downward, tightly gripping his forearm further than intended. Weakening her grip, she looked down. "To be honest, we didn't know about it at first. It wasn't until he returned Lacus to ZAFT that Kuzzey," she paused, remembering Dearka never met that particular friend, "another friend of ours from Heliopolis, overheard him mentioning it to her. We were just glad he didn't leave us behind for him."

She took a deep breath, filled with enough bitterness to completely grab Dearka's attention. The Buster's pilot instinctually followed her earlier gesture, resting a hand on her shoulder. "What happened then?"

"After the Archangel landed on Earth, most of us were too busy with our own situations to deal with Kira's problem. Well, other than Flay," she snorted.

"Flay? Another friend from Heliopolis?" Dearka asked.

"Yeah. Actually," she looked uneasy, "you two have met before. Remember back in the infirmary when I went ballistic on you?"

Dearka looked away, "Yeah, I remember. I'm sorry about what I said." He didn't like remembering, but at least now he could give a real apology.

Despite her discomfort, she smiled, "I forgave for you that a long time ago. It's obvious now that you didn't mean it." She gently squeezed his arm tenderly enough to make him blush. The moment didn't last long. "Anyway, Flay was the other girl, the one who tried to shoot you." Dearka reflexively scowled at the memory, "She wasn't always like that. Back to what I was saying, when we landed on Earth Kira and Flay started dating, even though she was actually in an arranged marriage with Sai."

"Yeowch," Dearka winced, "That's some grade A soup opera shit."

She chuckled, "It was pretty bad. I shouldn't be laughing about it, but surprisingly enough, she actually helped Kira through the tough times."

"I see." It sounded hard to believe, given his first and only impression of the girl, but Dearka knew his thoughts of Miriallia could've been similar if events had gone differently. Silence resumed again for a few minutes, each person content with the company.

After taking another sip of coffee, Dearka's explanation began, "Yzak, the pilot of the Duel, has been my friend for years. Both our parents are on the ZAFT Supreme Council, so we saw each other pretty often even when we were young. It was pretty awesome being together at the academy, and afterwards when we were part of the Le Creuset team. Side by side. Back to back. Not once did I ever think we'd fight each other." He shook his head, ignoring Mir's concerned gaze. "After everything that's happened, I thought it'd be unfair if I didn't tell you what was bothering me. But I'll be alright now. All because of you."

"Thanks."

"That should be my line." He smiled, "Come to think of it, I never did thank you for saving me that day either." Dearka turned so his body completely faced Miriallia, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She said brightly, cheeks sporting an unmistakable crimson.

"And not just for that. But also this," he gestured around the room, "right now. Caring about me and cheering me up and just being there. I really appreciate it." He reached over, tan hands gently grasping her smaller white ones, pulling her close enough to feel his breath. "Miriallia Haw, thank you." He whispered.

"Dearka…" She spoke softly with baited breath.

Taking a gamble, Dearka leaned forward. Her closed eyes and complete reciprocation equaled hitting the jackpot.

* * *

As Kira rested his weary mind, those standing by his side felt a myriad of emotions.

Kneeling at his bedside, Flay Allster clasped his hand with both of her own. She paid no attention to the others nearby, her focus entirely spent on Kira's well being. It had been too soon since she realized Kira was not dead, and she'd go through hell and back before losing him again. The redhead's panicking state ensured missing the important detail that the Gundam pilot's life was in no danger.

Behind her stood the famous pink haired princess, Lacus Clyne, who felt surprised more than anything. Seeing the girl who adamantly claimed strong dislike for Coordinators fervently tending to the one she loved shocked her beyond belief. While she felt pleased in knowing Flay overcame her anti-Coordinator prejudice, a small part of her desperately hoped the redhead's affection for Kira was a one-way street.

Standing next to Lacus, Athrun impassively watched his friend resting, keeping his inner worry within. His former commander's words did indeed trouble him, but he wasn't overly concerned. It didn't matter if Kira was a Natural, a Coordinator or a crazy flesh-eating panda bear with a liking for wooden guitars. The Kira he knew was his best friend, and that fact couldn't be changed so easily. If anything, Athrun mainly contemplated the identity of the girl desperately attending to his closest friend with mixed emotions. Last he checked, if Lacus and Kira weren't an item yet, they would be soon.

Behind the trio was Cagalli, holding two identical photos while trembling slightly. She'd put her father's powerful and shocking revelation behind her. With another copy of the picture of a mother sharing unmistakable resemblance of Kira in the teenager's own quarters, the problem returned full force. Did her father tell the truth? Was this the final nail in the coffin? What was going on here?

Sai Argyle stood beside the exiting door. He need not touch her or even speak to her. Seeing Flay alive, her simple presence was enough for him.

A tense silence enveloped the room, and did not ease up until Kira stirred.

"Kira!" At his side in an instant, Flay hovered over him with her hands placed on his shoulders. He would live after all! Her face became the first thing his opening eyes encountered. Forcing his eyes shut, he waited seconds before reopening them.

"Flay… you're really here. It wasn't just a dream." He did it. He really did it. He saved her. Leaning back, Kira offered no resistance as the redhead gently pushed him back in a resting position. "I'm so glad."

"Kira…" Now confronted with him, Flay was unsure what to say. Should she apologize? Ask for forgiveness for the reason she initially pursued him? Should she simply hold him and care for him and save that conversation for another day? Her thoughts whirled a mile a second as tears started forming in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're awake Kira! We were so worried about you." Lacus Clyne smiled at him, genuinely pleased with his recovery and silently hoping his attention would shift to the others in the room.

"Sorry." He apologized, looking from Lacus to Athrun, the latter shrugging with a smile.

Just when Flay tried to form a coherent sentence, Cagalli beat her to the punch. "Kira! Do you know what _this_ is all about?" The blonde asked, the photograph she received from Uzumi and the one found in Mendel flapped wildly in her waving hands.

The pictures darkened his mood immediately, turning away with a sharp increase in breathing. The memories came back. Ultimate Coordinator. Experiments. Clones. Bone-chilling ravings of a masked madman. Kira wanted it all to just _go away_!

"Kira!" Flay cried, his hand reaching for hers reflexively. She angrily turned to Cagalli, face contorted in a scowl Lacus found disturbingly familiar and couldn't halt her frightened jump. She'd spent so much time afraid as a prisoner of ZAFT. Always scared, always meek, always submissive. Not anymore. Reunited with Kira, she'd protect him no matter what. "What are doing to him? Get the hell out of here!"

His ex-fiancé's reaction concerned Athrun greatly. _'This girl… Kira, who is she to you?'_ He easily noticed the way Kira reached out for her, as if she alone could fix his problems. As if his best friend and possible sister and girl who loved him lacked the ability to comfort him like she would.

It seemed so wrong.

Still, the redhead had a point, though her delivery could use some work. He looked around discreetly, brainstorming ways of diffusing the situation. In all likelihood, Cagalli wouldn't listen to reason. Her stubbornness nearly ensured it and this wasn't the time or place. If Lacus hadn't shown a brief display of terror he would have escorted her out of the room already.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Cagalli wasn't having it, "this is way more important than watching you put your claws back inside him!" She hadn't forgotten that first impression. Of a girl arrogantly scowling directly at her before coldly dumping her betrothed and hanging on the Coordinator pilot like a conquered prize, making him lash out at the man currently standing behind her. Nor did Cagalli forget the way she consistently kept Kira away from her company and mocked her with undisguised jealously.

"More important than making him _miserable_?" Flay snapped, gesturing her head to Kira who was clearly waging war against tears threatening to spill. Lacus winced.

The new leader of Orb's retort died before it left her mouth.

"Alright everyone, let's calm down for a second." The guys had remained quiet throughout the conversation, but Sai decided to break that silence. Far from the most confident individual, he gulped upon realizing so many important people giving him their undivided attention. "I think it would be best if we left Kira alone for a while," he took a deep breath, struggling to finish his message, "Flay's got this under control. She's comforted Kira many times before."

The other three stared at him incredulously, each preparing their own protest. He could feel the sweat trickling his brow, but Sai wouldn't back down. So what if he wasn't a leader's child? So what if he wasn't an ace pilot? So what if he wasn't a universally recognized pop idol? So what if he wasn't in charge of a warship? He disliked it, but Flay and Kira's mutual affections were reality. If Kira brought her happiness, he would help. If standing up to some of the most prominent fighters in their army was required, so be it. He'd grown tired of believing he couldn't compete with the others.

The first to buckle, Athrun hadn't missed the fact that Kira hadn't focused on anyone but Flay during the entire exchange. "Very well, Sai," he nodded, "I've got some questions of my own." Carrying through with his earlier plan, he grabbed Cagalli and lightly escorted her out of the room, her protests falling on deaf ears until they left. Explanations could occur later, for both of them.

Lacus pursed her lips, hesitant at leaving Kira. They'd recently gotten closer and closer, but his current fixation sent her hopes crashing into dust.

Flay spared her a glance, feeling no thrill at the Coordinator's poorly hidden fear. The girl obviously shared similar feelings for Kira. On that subject, Flay only felt pity. She was not at fault. The pink pop idol simply tried to grab what was totally, completely, undeniably out of her reach. Lacus had no idea her attempts at Kira's heart were no different than participating in sports without knowing the rules, or becoming a greater mobile suit pilot than the young Coordinator in question overnight. Nor _should_ she have known. A popular singer she may be, a mind reader she most certainly was not. Contrary to popular belief, Lacus Clyne was no goddess. No embodiment of unarguable perfection.

Sighing, Flay looked down, "I won't hurt him. Not anymore. I know I've wronged you in the past, but please believe me when I say that I will never hurt Kira again."

A generally optimistic person, Lacus still had trouble wrapping her mind around that, her own feelings for Kira and the memories of a anti-Coordinator girl wanting nothing to do with those having genetic enhancements strongly interfering.

"I'll be fine, Lacus," Finally focusing on someone else, Kira made eye contact with her, "Sorry to worry you, but it's just… Flay," he couldn't find the right words to complete his thought, tightening his grip on the girl he liked since before Heliopolis' destruction.

Understanding, Lacus nodded and turned around, waiting until the door closed before furiously wiping her eyes. Sai followed her on the way out, steeling himself for a _shitload_ of questioning.

"It's alright now Kira," Flay cupped his face with her hands, "My thoughts will protect you." She repeated the line from before, her own sincerity behind it made her feel much better. No ulterior motive this time.

Kira sniffed, averting his eyes, "I told myself I would never cry again, but right now, it feels right."

Leaning forward, she responded with a deep kiss. Separating, her smile only grew larger at Kira's blush, "Kira, you know I've no problem with your tears," she leaned again, foreheads touching, "I'll never judge you for that. All I want is to be with you… and keep loving you."

For the first time since acquiring the Freedom, Kira cried. Embracing, the girl holding him also shed tears. But despite the earlier troubles of the day, the droplets of salt water represented happiness, not despair.

Her journey was far from over, but for the person in her arms, it was worth it.


End file.
